Household Consumption

A few months ago, my niece suggested to my family that we watch Tell Me Lies, a show that “follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years.” Cut to my wife and me sitting in the living room with our two teens watching a series of softcore sex scenes that would have made Cinemax blush in its heyday. I complained to my niece that she set us up for some uncomfortable moments, but maybe she was just directing our family toward what apparently is a new trend these days. The Cut: It’s Family ‘Sex Scenes’ Night. “Sex educators I spoke with say parents today need to provide counterprogramming for their kids because the mainstream p-rn that teens stumble on, in addition to being full of racist stereotypes and short on body diversity, is now dominated by violent BDSM.” (I could barely watch Ginger and Mary Ann with my parents in the room.)

+ At the risk of stating the obvious, once my kids left the room, I proceeded to binge every episode of the two seasons of Tell Me Lies. And that was before I knew it had educational value.